{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,7]],"date-time":"2026-02-07T18:45:38Z","timestamp":1770489938858,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,7,24]],"date-time":"2019-07-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1563926400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/journals\/pages\/open_access\/funder_policies\/chorus\/standard_publication_model"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2019,8,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>STUDY QUESTION<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Are there reasons that motivate young cancer survivors to ask for follow-up visits at an oncofertility unit?<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>SUMMARY ANSWER<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Cancer survivors request oncofertility follow-up visits for the management of treatment-related side effects or ovarian reserve evaluation, even if not (or not yet) wishing for a pregnancy.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Personalised oncofertility counselling before gonadotoxic therapies is considered standard of care for young women with newly diagnosed cancer. However, the long-term follow-up of these patients in an oncofertility unit is not described in the literature other than for the use of cryopreserved material.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>We retrospectively examined rates and reasons for the first follow-up visits of 154 consecutive young female cancer patients (age range: 18\u201340\u00a0years) who underwent a pre-treatment consultation between January 2012 and June 2017. Demographic and clinical data were collected, as well as information about the chosen fertility preservation method, if any.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>PARTICIPANTS\/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Rates and reasons for follow-up visits were collected and expressed as percentages. Different reasons were examined in the whole cohort and stratified for type of malignancy. Possible predictive factors for return to the follow-up visit (age, nulliparity, presence of a partner, neoplasm, having cryopreserved material) were investigated through logistic regression.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Out of 154 patients, 74 returned to the oncofertility unit (48.1%) for a follow-up visit. The first visit was requested mostly at the end of anticancer therapies (51.3% versus 40.5% during therapies and 8.1% after cancer relapse). Among these patients, only 10.8% returned for the first time because they were actively desiring a pregnancy. For the others, the most common reasons for consultations were management of gynecological adverse effects of therapies (29.7%) and evaluation of ovarian reserve not linked to an immediate desire for a pregnancy (39.2%). Other patients asked for contraception (4.1%), menopause counselling (5.4%), or new fertility preservation counselling because of cancer relapse (10.8%). None of the examined factors were significantly predictive of return to the oncofertility unit.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>These findings represent the experience of a single centre. A longer duration of follow-up would be needed to provide more precise information on this regard.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>WIDER IMPLICATION OF THE FINDINGS<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>The role of an oncofertility unit should not be limited to proposing fertility preservation procedures. In the management of young adult cancer patients, the reproductive medical specialist should be considered a key figure not only before but also during and after anticancer treatments to explore salient aspects of gynecological and reproductive health.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>STUDY FUNDING\/COMPETING INTEREST(S)<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>This research did not receive any specific funding. M.L. served as a consultant for Teva and received honoraria from Theramex outside the submitted work. The other authors declare no conflict of interest.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>N.A.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1093\/humrep\/dez108","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,6,4]],"date-time":"2019-06-04T07:40:22Z","timestamp":1559634022000},"page":"1462-1469","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":46,"title":["Beyond fertility preservation: role of the oncofertility unit in the reproductive and gynecological follow-up of young cancer patients"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"34","author":[{"given":"Claudia","family":"Massarotti","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Academic Unit of Obstetrics and Gynecology, DINOGMI Department, University of Genova, 16132, Genova, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Paola","family":"Scaruffi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physiopathology of Human Reproduction Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132, Genova, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Matteo","family":"Lambertini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, U.O.C. Clinica di Oncologia Medica, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132, Genova, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (DiMI), School of Medicine, University of Genova, 16132, Genova, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Fausta","family":"Sozzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physiopathology of Human Reproduction Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132, Genova, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Valentino","family":"Remorgida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Academic Unit of Obstetrics and Gynecology, DINOGMI Department, University of Genova, 16132, Genova, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Paola","family":"Anserini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physiopathology of Human Reproduction Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132, Genova, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,7,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"2019080918245360200_ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e93","DOI":"10.1097\/AOG.0000000000001351","article-title":"ACOG Committee opinion no. 659: the use of vaginal estrogen in women with a history of estrogen-dependent breast cancer","volume":"127","author":"American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists\u2019 Committee on Gynecologic Practice","year":"2016","journal-title":"Obstet Gynecol"},{"key":"2019080918245360200_ref2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"159","DOI":"10.1093\/humupd\/dmy038","article-title":"How can we improve oncofertility care for patients? 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